This has been a good year for our family run businesses: PNW Video and Public Doman. We rarely loose a client. Usually they have to die to leave us. We just lost one due to COVID in September, however. They usually dealt with cash customers and cash was hard to come by for many people who found themselves continually short of cash and no jobs.
“For 80% of shoppers, digital communications with store associates over the next six months are likely or very likely.” – digitalcommerce360.com/article/coronavirus-impact-online-retail/
Most of our clients are either service centered or sell products. With many people not working from April on, and no place to go, people spent more time on the internet. This was revealed to us by our monthly client stats. While visitor figures have not yet fallen to pre-covid numbers they have fallen from the larger numbers we saw in April, May, and June. Those visitors have been captured and will hopefully continue to visit client sites.
Our review/testimonial site nwoneandonly.com almost always has as its leader (Nth Degree CPAs) out of Seattle. Occasionally it would get beat out by Circle B Ranch of Enumclaw, who breeds Labrador retrievers and Olde English Bulldogges. For September we saw Circle B in the third position with 54 reads, and Nth Degree in second place with 55 reads. Number one was GPA Valuation of University Place with 61 reads. What makes them unusual is the fact that they only deal with commercial property appraisals, which means businesses being bought and sold. Unlike the real estate market that just keeps increasing in value here locally, the same might not be happening with commercial properties.
“Commercial rents and property values are declining and significant uncertainty hangs over the market.” – axios.com/real-estate-prices-relocation-pandemic-84372b64-f1cc-4a4f-8fe8-c2b99e3cc2de.html
The Pacific Northwest and especially here in Pierce County the future looks good. Last January, there was a small Craftsman-style house that sold for $200,000. With some yardwork and renovation, there is now a pending sale on that same piece of property at $560,000. This is a north end home with no view, but is less than a mile away from Point Ruston. Point Ruston and its potential for walking traffic has expanding a need for more businesses. The same could be true for University Place with their downtown feel and Lakewood with its renovations and road improvements coming in the near future.